Commonly, hot tubs and both regular and garden bathtubs are used for handicapped persons for therapy. However, it can be difficult for handicapped persons to get into and out of a normal hot tub or various types of bathtubs due to the high walls of the tub enclosure. Also, typical bathtubs are getting deeper with a great difference between the ground outside the bathtub and the bottom of the bathtub itself. In a similar vein, hot tubs typically sit on the ground and have very high walls to allow a person to fully submerge. An individual who may require a wheelchair, a walker, or other assist device to facilitate movement may find it difficult to enter or exit a bathtub or hot tub. Various types of seating devices assist and support individuals within a bathtub or shower, but not a hot tub.
Some bathtub seating devices take the form of a bench that is positioned between the sidewalls of the bathtub. These benches may be supported by a plurality of legs extending to a bottom of a bathtub. Such benches provide a seating surface on which an individual may be placed. Some bench type seats are designed to be more simply supported on the top of the sidewalls of the bathtub and may include devices for engaging opposing sidewalls of the bathtub.
To facilitate the manner in which an individual may be positioned on a bath chair or seat, other types of bench supports may include a portion that is either mounted directly over a sidewall of the bathtub or cantilevered outwardly therefrom to provide initial support for an individual being assisted. By initially seating an individual on a cantilevered seat, the individual may thereafter be moved so that his or her legs are brought inwardly to the bathtub while their weight is supported by the seat thereafter. The individual may then be shifted along the bench within the confines of the bathtub.
Some types of prior art structures are permanently installed adjacent the bathtub or hot tub enclosure. Other types of portable seating devices are supported both along the bottom of the bathtub and by an adjacent floor structure.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a more efficient way to allow a handicapped or disabled person to carefully enter into and out of a bathtub or hot tub with different levels of floor surfaces inside and outside the tub enclosure.